Faction The People v. Lysander von Asacania

[Astra Sadow]

Edic Bar? Astra's expression didn't change, but neither did she blink. That was a hell of a thing to say the prosecutor could get to stick to him. Might be able to argue any fatalities were the doings of others unless there were holo feeds or eye witnesses. No doubt there was at least one, but would it get a conviction of murder? Obviously the gross destruction of property -- a floating city -- was no paltry thing on its own either. Still, property damage was easy to negotiate around. You could argue insurance had paid out and an even better future was underway. Murder, however, was not so easily swept under the rug. Not with these moralizing stooges.

Burnt golden eyes slid aside, away from the door and to the manifesting visage of Srina Talon herself. Suppose one was meant to be surprised at her appearance, but there'd been a tension in that court room that hadn't been born concerning the trial's outcome. She fooled people visually with her appearance, but few could be said to have the same... aura. There was only one Srina Talon in Astra's sense of the world. Her presence had always been a threat to these proceedings and now she'd made herself known.

An equal measure of acknowledgement mirrored Srina's own subtle introduction to Lysander's Attorney.

It then became an exchange between an Elder and their wayward Childe; of which Astra was not about to interject herself. One displayed the same courtesy one expected in turn should the circumstances be reversed.

At last, the Empress demanded her answer, and Lysander von Ascania provided it. One Astra expected would be pleasing to the woman.

"Me? You've made a mockery of the court, spat in the Prosecutor's face, plan to commit who knows what acts in order to escape, and now you add kidnapping to the charges?" Astra's brow furrowed and she leaned slightly back as if the mountain of outrage packaged in a single man were beyond comprehension.

Then a swarm of black tendrils erupted from the floor to snap shut like the Mouth of the Nether itself around the seat and end of the table where Aurelian Veruna had been sitting. It drug the material into the void as it vanished back from whence it came.

Afterward, Astra relaxed in the seat with a smile for Srina and Lysander. "I could feel the outrage from here. Verity Stuyveris is too upright to violate his civil rights so brazenly." By virtue of elimination one party had been left. "If you're departing I certainly have nothing left to do here. I doubt they'd give me the pleasure of letting lose in anger in my presence. And I really would rather not listen to the Judge drone on about the betrayal and humor the idea of a trial in absentia -- all rather tedious." It'd be much more exciting for them to think Astra had been kidnapped. They might have a doubt, but no evidence. Good enough.

 

[Aurelian Veruna]

Tags: Verity Stuyveris

Calculated risks were the foundation of every move Aurelian made, but watching his hunch pay off so spectacularly brought a satisfying clarity to the chaos. Crossing the small room, he collapsed into a high-backed chair with exaggerated fatigue. He brought his hands up to rub his face, listening to Verity's endless stream of legalistic fury until a faint ping on his comm confirmed the transmission was cut and the bug had been lost.

When the last of her deputies scrambled out the door, Aurelian dropped his hands, letting out a heavy, dramatic sigh into the sudden silence.

"Do you ever bother to stop complaining?" he blurted out, leaning back and resting an ankle over his knee. "Shiraya, it is nauseating how much I have to hear you whine."

A smirk broke through his tired demeanor as his eyes locked onto her burning blue gaze. The rules she held so sacred were currently dissolving in the next room, just as he had anticipated.

"Can't you just say thank you?" Aurelian asked, tilting his head with insufferable arrogance. "I quite certainly just saved your life, Senator."

​

 

[Verity Stuyveris]

LOCATION

THE HIGH REPUBLIC HALL OF JUSTICE

DINKY LITTLE CONFERENCE ROOM

MORNING

♫ (FUCK A) SILVER LINING — PANIC! AT THE DISCO

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"Now listen to me, you jumped-up little -- " Verity snapped before regaining her composure, pressing her cupped hands to cover her nose and mouth. She took an audible breath and tried hard not to roll her eyes so hard they fell out of her head. "You expect me to believe that you unraveled this conspiracy on your own and then came to my aid? Please. You couldn't investigate your way out of a wet paper sack. No, let's be honest, Veruna. You wanted to insinuate yourself into negotiations that did not concern you because the thought of power being exercised somewhere beyond your reach caused you physical pain. Then you bugged the room, and by some obscene stroke of luck, you tumbled ass-over-elbow into something real."

She regarded him coolly for another moment, her irritation warring visibly with something considerably less comfortable for her.

"But..." The word hurt her teeth. "Tensions are running quite high and we've both said some things you're going to regret, so perhaps I have been... hasty in one respect. It would have been easier to keep me standing in that corridor." Her arms folded across her chest. "Probably it would have made your life easier in the long term, too. You thought I was in danger and so you came after me."

There, her mouth tightened as if she had discovered a stinging insect in her champagne. "So -- thank you. There. Treasure it. You are unlikely to hear it again, especially if you continue behaving like a jackass." She turned back toward the door, as if willing security reinforcements to arrive.

"Aurelian, don't mistake this for vindication of your methods. You are lucky, to be certain, and that seems to have served you well -- somehow. But it is more reliable to simply be ethical. Try it. You might like it." Verity turned back to him, and the plain fury on her face had given way to something like wry humor, though not untouched by the bitterness of the situation. "Can you believe those bastards? The audacity... the fucking temerity... the unmitigated cheek of it all. I could almost admire them if they weren't prepared to use the Republic Judiciary to for skeet-shooting."

Verity regarded him solemnly then. "We will have to get to the bottom of this mess. After all, I doubt you have any appetite for a cover-up, but we need to pay very close attention to anyone who does." Her features softened into thoughtfulness, though the sharp shrewdness in her gaze remained. "Do you know, our rather public antipathy might finally prove useful here."

A faint smile tugged one corner of her mouth up. "Verity Stuyveris, amazon hell on heels, goes tearing through the Judiciary demanding blood, breathing fire, and swearing vengeance. If somebody wants me stopped, who better to approach than you?" Her head tilted almost coquettishly. "You could finally put being an obstructive bastard to constructive use."

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WITH

Aurelian Veruna • Srina Talon • Lysander von Ascania

 

[Aurelian Veruna]

Tags: Verity Stuyveris

Patience wore thin beneath the surface of his calm exterior. A tiny part of him genuinely wished he had left her in the corridor to fend for herself, if only to spare his head the pounding headache developing behind his eyes.

"I make no objection about inserting myself where I am not welcome," Aurelian started, uncrossing his legs to lean forward. "But let me remind you, you are in my house. The Republic is a guest here; I come and go as I please."

A smile touched his lips as he met her gaze head-on.

"You are not wrong. I sought a way to help a friend. But when I dug into the ways I could torment you in this trial, to which I found many. Your judiciary system is corrupt, to say the least," he continued smoothly. "Still, I accept your thank you. You might be dead if I had not intervened. Now, will you stop complaining?"

Resting his forearms on his knees, Aurelian locked eyes with the senator.

"Relax for once and let the right people do their jobs," he urged. "Save the full-on rage for the Senate once everyone is safe."

​

 

[Verity Stuyveris]

LOCATION

HIS MAJESTY'S JUDICIAL GUEST ROOM

KING AURELIAN'S PERSONAL CONFERENCE ROOM

TIME TO GET BENT

♫ MANCHILD — SABRINA CARPENTER

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"And, like any gracious host, you are so fond of reminding us," Us, because he surely couldn't even mean just her. Not when he spoke of the Republic Judiciary with such sneering contempt. Not when he treated the Senate and the Chancellor like accoutrements to his own overly-upholstered office. "Anyone would think that Naboo were chafing under the burden of hosting the Republic's entire legislative, executive, and judiciary infrastructure here." She finally turned back to him and then pointedly crossed to the opposite end of the table, where she drew a chair back and allowed herself to settle there.

"But -- perhaps you're right about complaining. What does it help now? There are problems to solve -- the one you yourself just raised, for instance. If Naboo considers the Republic merely an inconvenient, increasingly unwelcome guest here -- one whose institutions are expected to accommodate the Crown's prerogatives whenever the King decides they conflict -- perhaps this arrangement has outlived its usefulness."

She laid a slender hand on the table, fingertips drumming lightly. "I'm sure there are other member worlds of the Republic that could better tolerate the crushing weight of the responsibility that comes with being the capital. And since you've done me such a solid today -- you know, saving my life and all -- I could see my way to championing that reform on your behalf."

She drew out her datapad and made a note to herself as she went on, her voice conversational. "There are trade-offs, I'm sure, but respect for your royal prerogatives is no doubt a fair tradeoff for the billions of credits in economic activity the Republic's presence brings to Naboo. I wonder how that would play out during the next monarchy election. But you're so silver-tongued I'm certain you could explain it in a way that frames the natural consequences of your own arrogant, self-aggrandizing ego-trip as being in the best interests of Naboo."

A pause as she tucked her datapad back into her case.

"Right?" Verity drew a compact from her briefcase and checked her appearance. Despite the kerfuffle, she had not a single golden hair out of place, which was just as it should be. When she spoke, her voice was easy, conversational -- friendly, even. "How about Denon? Can you imagine? Corvalis would have a coronary."

That might almost have made it worth the attempt.

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WITH

Aurelian Veruna • CC: Dominique Vexx